Walking in Memphis
by Zane's Girl- Jo
Summary: Put on my blue suede shoes; boarded a plane. Touched down in the land of the delta blues in middle of pouring rain. I got a first class ticket, but I'm as blue as a girl can be...Saw the ghost of Elvis, followed him up to the gates of Graceland....."


**Walking In Memphis**

**Rifiuto: Non Miniera **

**A/N: The song belongs to Marc Cohn, Cher, and whoever else sang this song, but the story is my idea though. **

**A/N: The disclaimer is in Italian, underneath the title.**

**A/N: It's set after Elphaba and Fiyero leave Oz. They end up being split up when they leave, and Elphaba discovers the music of Elvis. So, she decides to take a trip to Memphis, to try and make her name in the music business. Also, Elphaba is degreenified in this, remember, this is after she leaves Oz. **

**Enjoy!**

_"Put on my blue suede shoes  
And I boarded the plane  
Touched down in the land of the delta blues  
In the middle of the pouring rain  
WC Handy won't you look down over me  
Yeah I got a first class ticket  
But I'm as blue as a girl can be"_

Elphaba looked out the window of the plane, out at the city of Memphis. As the plane landed, her stomach did flip flops. She was in the land where dreams came true. She seemed to space out, as she left the plane and exited the terminal. Guitar case in hand, she stepped out of the airport and quickly covered her head with the newspaper she'd been reading. She looked around, unsure of where to go. Quickly, she crossed the street, and made her way down the sidewalk, looking for a nearby cafe. Finally, she spotted one, and rushed towards it.

The bell sounded her arrival, and she moved to the counter.

"Excuse me, um...." The man turned, and Elphaba found herself staring at Boq. Or, someone who looked like Boq.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" He asked, wiping the counter down. Elphaba set her guitar case and bag down, and pulled her purse out. She counted out the change, and looked up at the man.

Ten dollars.

She'd left on a whim, bought a one way ticket to Memphis, with no desire to return. There was nothing for her, back there. And she still had to get something to eat and a place to stay.

"Um....h.....how much is a cup of coffee and a muffin?"

Look-a-like Boq noticed her glance down at the change in her hand. He gave her a small smile.

"A cup of coffee, is normally three fifty, and a muffin is about two twenty-five. Tell you what, kid, the coffee will be a dollar, and the muffin is on the house." He said, pouring the coffee for her and handing her a plate with the muffin on it.

She took it, grateful.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He said, and noticed her guitar case as she put her change away. "You play guitar?" She looked down at her guitar and nodded.

"Yeah. I... I came down, hoping to make my fortune. Like Elvis." She said, blushing. He nodded. Then, he pulled a sheet of paper out from under the tip jar, held it out to her.

"It's open mic night. At The Hollwood on the Beale. You should think of trying out. A lot of really famous singers have been discovered there." He said, as he followed her outside to one of the small tables outside under the awning.

"I need a song though. I don't have one." She said.

"You're in the place that made Elvis a star, you should be able to think of a song." He said. "Enjoy."

"Thank you." She said, as he headed back inside and Elphaba sat down. She pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, and stared at it. After taking a sip of her coffee, she put pen to paper and began to write.

Put on my blue suede shoes  
And I boarded the plane--  
Touched down in the land of the delta blues  
In the middle of the pouring rain  
WC Handy won't you look down over me  
Yeah I got a first class ticket  
But I'm as blue as a girl can be

She set the pen down, and read the verse. That described the first part of her trip pretty well. She continued writing, until she'd finished the muffin, and had a couple sips of coffee left. By then, the rain had let up a bit, and she looked around. Just as she picked up the pen to continue, she hit a block. Sighing, she set it down, and rubbed her temples. She didn't know how long she sat there, but she pulled out a couple bills for tip.

Then, she put the rest of her change in her purse, and whispered,

"WC Handy, please, you're the king of the blues. Could you help me out? I'm lost and alone. I don't know what to do. Could you help me out? Please?"

Then, she got up, gathered her stuff, and poked her head through the door.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome kid." He replied. In a flash, she was gone.

_"Then I'm walking in Memphis  
I was walking with my feet ten feet off a Beale  
Walking in Memphis  
But do I really feel the way I feel"_

She walked along, looking a place to stay that would be cheap. No such luck. As the rain came on harder, she rushed along, before taking shelter in the doorway of a shop on Union Avenue. Shaking, she set down her stuff, and settled on the step. Slowly, she pulled out the pad and pen, and began to write. Or, think about writing. Nothing came.

"WC? Mr. Handy? It's me again. I'm stuck. I've got the first verse and the refrain of my song, but nothing else. Could you help me out? Send me a sign, perhaps? Anything to help me out?"

When none came, she put the pad and pen back in her bag, and looked around, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to warm herself. She looked up, and squinted through the rain.

A figure stood in the middle of the avenue. Black hair, square jaw, sunglasses.

Elvis.

Elphaba blinked. He disappeared, and came back. He was dead. Died in 1977. He met her eyes, and beckoned, before turning and leaving.

Quickly, Elphaba gathered her stuff, and scrambled after him. He led her through the streets.

_"Saw the ghost of Elvis on Union Avenue  
Followed him up to the gates of Graceland  
And I watched him walk right through  
Now security they did not see him  
They just huddled round his tomb  
There's a pretty little thing waiting for the King  
Down in the jungle room"_

Finally, they reached the gates of Graceland. He passed through. Slowly, she set her guitar down, and reached out, wrapping her fingers around the bars of the gate. Then, she pressed her face against the bars, and watched him walk up the cement walk to the mansion. Elphaba watched the guards; none of them noticed him.

Halfway up the walk, the ghost turned and nodded to her, before continuing, reaching the door and going through. Elphaba imagined him going down to the Jungle Room, where Lisa Marie would have been waiting to greet him, teddy bear in hand, when he was alive.

Slowly, Elphaba sank to the ground, as the rain poured, and pulled out her pad and pen. Quickly, she scribbled lyrics onto it, trying to protect it as much as she could from the rain.

Saw the ghost of Elvis on Union Avenue  
Followed him up to the gates of Graceland  
And I watched him walk right through  
Now security they did not see him  
They just huddled round his tomb  
There's a pretty little thing waiting for the King  
Down in the jungle room

She put the end of her pen in her mouth, and read the verse, liking it. She rewrote the chorus, and then put the pad and pen away, before getting up, gathering her things. She turned back to the mansion, wrapped her hands around the bars, and watched.

"Thank you." She whispered, before letting go of the bars and leaving.

_"Then I'm walking in Memphis  
I was walking with my feet ten feet off a Beale  
Walking in Memphis  
But do I really feel the way I feel_

_Then I'm walking in Memphis  
I was walking with my feet ten feet off a Beale  
Walking in Memphis  
But do I really feel the way I feel"_

As she wandered through the city, she came across a church. Slowly, she approached, and pushed the door open. It was a nice church. Apparently she'd walked in on the end of a sermon, for the church was just clearing out.

"Excuse me? Are you lost child?" Elphaba turned, to see a big, burly man with chocolate colored skin and kind eyes next to her. The reverand.

"Um.....yes. I.....I just got in a few hours ago, and I have no where to stay, not enough money. Basically a spur of the moment trip. Right now, I......I haven't got a prayer in the world." She told him, as the man's wife joined them. The man lifted her chin up.

"You've always got a prayer in Memphis." He said, then he held out his hand. "Reverand Al Green."

"E...Elphaba Thropp." She said, releasing her hold on her guitar case and shaking his hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Elphaba."

"You too."

"Guitar? Do you play?" Elphaba looked at the woman. She nodded.

"Yeah. I......came down to make my fortune here, sing a couple songs. Maybe get lucky and get discovered. So far, it's....not working out so well." The older couple excused themselves for a moment, talked, and then came back.

"Elphaba, when was the last time you had a descent meal?" Mrs. Green asked. Elphaba thought back.

"Not since I left, I suppose. Why?"

"How would you like to come have dinner with us tonight? We don't refuse hospitality to those who need it. You can tell us about yourself." Mrs. Green said. Elphaba nodded.

"Sounds good. Thank you."

"Good. Do you like catfish?"

Soon, the three returned to the Green's house, and Elphaba met their children. As they sat around the table, Elphaba told them about her childhood, being a child of abuse, how she finally got to college and met Glinda, how she left after her freshman year of college to make her own way, and found Fiyero again, after three years apart, only to have him taken from her and killed.

The Greens listened kindly, asking questions when she was done, and reassuring her.

_"They got catfish on the table  
They got gospel in the air  
Reverend Green be glad to see you  
When you haven't got a prayer  
But boy you got a prayer in Memphis  
Now Gabriel plays piano  
Every Friday at the Hollywood  
And they brought me down to see him  
And asked me if I would"_

Finally, Elphaba thanked them for dinner, and left, not before telling her about The Hollywood. She thanked them, and headed towards it. She walked until she made it, and hesitated. Mustering her courage, she pulled the door open, and stuck her head inside.

"Hello?"

Quietly, she stepped inside, and looked around. It was a nice little cafe. The sound of piano music brought her into the cafe and over to the stage. A man, Gabriel, was playing the piano.

"Miss?"

"Oh, I shouldn't be in here, I'm sorry, I'll just--" She started, backtracking from the bartender. The woman stopped her. She looked like Nessa.

"Don't worry about it. Do you play?" She asked, referencing the guitar.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Do you want to play?"

"Can I?" Elphaba asked. The Nessa look-a-like nodded, and led her to the piano.

_"Do a little number  
And I sang with all my might  
He said tell me are you a Christian child  
And I said man I am tonight_

_Then I'm walking in Memphis  
I was walking with my feet ten feet off a Beale  
Walking in Memphis  
But do I really feel the way I feel"_

Nervous, Elphaba pulled her guitar out of its case and settled on the edge of the stage, tuned it, and waited.

"What do you want me to sing?"

"Whatever you want." Elphaba nodded. Then, softly, she began to sing the song she'd been working on since she got there. Her voice got louder, as she strummed a tune on the guitar. The bartender and Gabriel stopped, and listened as Elphaba's voice carried through the room. Soon, however, she stopped.

"I....don't have an ending. This is all I have." Elphaba said.

"It may be all you have, but it's great." The woman said. Elphaba stayed, until seven that night. Others began coming in, preparing to try their hand at the microphone. Elphaba, meanwhile, spent the time trying to figure out an ending for her song.

Finally, she just decided to add the refrain and the beginning of the song again. She ran over it once in her head, and then sang it softly to herself, before looking up. The place was packed.

"All right people, we're going to start our open mic night. So...." One by one, acts started, people sang, and each ended with a nice round of applause. Elphaba was last on the list. The bartender came back to the microphone when it was Elphaba's turn. "...please give a round of applause to Miss Elphaba Thropp." Elphaba nodded as she stepped onstage, guitar in hand. She settled on the stool, adjusted the microphone, tuned her guitar, and said,

"Um....hello.....everyone. My name's Elphaba, and......and my song is called, _'Walking in Memphis.'_ I hope you enjoy."

Slowly, she began to play, and soon, her voice followed. The audience sat and listened, awed by the young woman's talent.

_"Then I'm walking in Memphis  
I was walking with my feet ten feet off a Beale  
Walking in Memphis  
But do I really feel the way I feel_

_Put on my blue suede shoes  
And I boarded the plane  
Touched down in the land of the delta blues  
In the middle of the pouring rain"_

Elphaba's voice faded, with the last string of the guitar in her hands. She looked around at the audience in the little cafe; it was silent. Her head lowered, her long raven hair creating a curtain around her face. She'd been silly for thinking that anyone would like her songs. However, slowly, applause sounded, and Elphaba looked up, to see a young man standing in the audience, applauding. Then, others stood, joining in. Soon, the sound became so defining that Elphaba got dizzy.

A ping sounded on the floor of the stage, and Elphaba looked down, to see quarters and pennies laying around the stool she was seated on. More change followed, until it was raining on her. She set her guitar down, and stood, bowing, to applause.

"Miss Thropp?" She looked up, to see a man standing at the bottom of the stage.

"Yes?"

"I'm Jason Carson; I'm an agent for Sun Records. I heard your song, and I'd like to represent you." He said, pulling out a calling card.

"Really? Me?"

"Yes. You have a gift, Miss Thropp. That son is beautiful. I was looking through the audience, and it moved everyone to tears. Are you interested?"

Elphaba took the card, and then held out her hand.

"Yes, of course."

"Good. Let me know when, and we'll set up a date to record it." He told her, excusing himself.

"I will, thank you."

As he left, Elphaba looked down at the card, and covered her mouth, smiling.

"I can't believe it. I have a record deal." She put her guitar away and pocketed the card. As she walked out of the building and onto the street, amid applause and congratulations, she found Elvis waiting. He smiled and nodded, and she smiled in return, before he faded, a distant memory.

"And all because I was walking in Memphis."


End file.
